DOCSLIB.ORG

Asteroid 2015 DB216: a Recurring Co-Orbital Companion to Uranus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Asteroid 2015 DB216: a Recurring Co-Orbital Companion to Uranus MNRAS 453, 1288–1296 (2015) doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1725 Asteroid 2015 DB216: a recurring co-orbital companion to Uranus C. de la Fuente Marcos‹ and R. de la Fuente Marcos Apartado de Correos 3413, E-28080 Madrid, Spain Accepted 2015 July 27. Received 2015 July 7; in original form 2015 June 3 ABSTRACT Minor bodies trapped in 1:1 co-orbital resonances with a host planet could be relevant to explain the origin of captured satellites. Among the giant planets, Uranus has one of the smallest known Downloaded from populations of co-orbitals, three objects, and all of them are short-lived. Asteroid 2015 DB216 has an orbital period that matches well that of Uranus, and here we investigate its dynamical state. Direct N-body calculations are used to assess the current status of this object, reconstruct its immediate dynamical past, and explore its future orbital evolution. A covariance matrix- based Monte Carlo scheme is presented and applied to study its short-term stability. We find http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/ that 2015 DB216 is trapped in a temporary co-orbital resonance with Uranus, the fourth known minor body to do so. A detailed analysis of its dynamical evolution shows that it is an unstable but recurring co-orbital companion to Uranus. It currently follows an asymmetric horseshoe trajectory that will last for at least 10 kyr, but it may remain inside Uranus’ co-orbital zone for millions of years. As in the case of other transient Uranian co-orbitals, complex multibody ephemeral mean motion resonances trigger the switching between the various resonant co- orbital states. The new Uranian co-orbital exhibits a secular behaviour markedly different from ◦ that of the other known Uranian co-orbitals because of its higher inclination, nearly 38 .Given at Northwestern University Library on February 2, 2016 its rather unusual discovery circumstances, the presence of 2015 DB216 hints at the existence of a relatively large population of objects moving in similar orbits. Key words: methods: numerical – methods: statistical – celestial mechanics – minor planets, asteroids: individual: 2015 DB216 – planets and satellites: individual: Uranus. et al. 2013; de la Fuente Marcos & de la Fuente Marcos 2014). Due 1 INTRODUCTION to its present short data-arc (85 d), 2010 EU65 is better described For over a century, co-orbitals – or minor bodies trapped in a 1:1 as a candidate. Asteroids Crantor and 2010 EU65 follow horse- mean motion resonance with a host planet – have been regarded as shoe orbits, and 2011 QF99 is an L4 Trojan. Consistently, Uranus mere interesting dynamical curiosities (Jackson 1913; Henon 1969; has also a small population of irregular satellites, significantly Namouni 1999). This view is now changing considerably; in fact, smaller than that of Jupiter or Saturn (Grav et al. 2003; Sheppard, the heliocentric 1:1 co-orbital resonance could be an efficient mech- Jewitt & Kleyna 2005). Most Uranian irregular satellites are ret- anism for capture of satellites by a planet and therefore explain the rograde and their large spread in semimajor axis suggest that they origin of some irregular moons (Kortenkamp 2005). This theoretical formed independently (Nesvornyetal.´ 2003); orbits with inclina- possibility – that of being a feasible dynamical pathway to capture tions in the range (80◦, 100◦) are unstable due to the Kozai resonance satellites, at least temporarily – was dramatically vindicated when (Kozai 1962). For the particular case of Uranus’ Trojans, Dvorak, a co-orbital of the Earth, 2006 RH120, remained as natural satellite Bazso´ & Zhou (2010) have also found that the stability depends of our planet for about a year starting in 2006 June (Kwiatkowski on the orbital inclination and only the inclination intervals (0◦,7◦), et al. 2009; Granvik, Vaubaillon & Jedicke 2012). (9◦,13◦), (31◦,36◦), and (38◦,50◦) seem to be stable. Asteroid Uranus has one of the smallest known populations of co-orbitals 2011 QF99 appears to inhabit one of these stable islands at an incli- and all of them are relatively short-lived (de la Fuente Marcos & de nation of nearly 11◦ (de la Fuente Marcos & de la Fuente Marcos la Fuente Marcos 2014). So far, Uranus had only three known co- 2014). The stability of Uranian Trojans had been previously studied orbitals: 83982 Crantor (2002 GO9) (Gallardo 2006; de la Fuente by Marzari, Tricarico & Scholl (2003), and by Nesvorny´ & Dones Marcos & de la Fuente Marcos 2013), 2010 EU65 (de la Fuente Mar- (2002) and Holman & Wisdom (1993) before them. cos & de la Fuente Marcos 2013), and 2011 QF99 (Alexandersen Here, we present a recently discovered object, 2015 DB216,that is also trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with Uranus. This minor body exhibits some dynamical features that separate it from E-mail: [email protected] the previously known Uranian co-orbitals. This paper is organized C 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society A recurring co-orbital to Uranus 1289 Table 1. Heliocentric Keplerian orbital elements of 2015 DB216 used elements provided by the JPL On-line Solar System Data Service3 in this research. The orbit is based on 28 observations spanning (Giorgini et al. 1996) and initial positions and velocities based on a data-arc of 4200 d or 11.50 yr, from 2003 October 21 to 2015 the DE405 planetary orbital ephemerides (Standish 1998) referred April 23. Values include the 1σ uncertainty. The orbit is computed to the barycentre of the Solar system. Besides the orbital calcula- at epoch JD 245 7000.5 that corresponds to 0:00 UT on 2014 December 9 (J2000.0 ecliptic and equinox) and it is t = 0 in the figures. Source: tions completed using the nominal elements in Table 1,wehave JPL Small-Body Database. performed 50 control simulations with sets of orbital elements ob- tained from the nominal ones as described in the following section, Semimajor axis, a (au) = 19.204 ± 0.005 all of them for 0.5 Myr forward and backwards in time. Two more Eccentricity, e = 0.323 95 ± 0.000 13 sets of 100 control orbits each have been integrated for just 5 kyr into Inclination, i (◦) = 37.7173 ± 0.0003 the past and the future to better characterize its short-term stability. Longitude of the ascending node, (◦) = 6.2679 ± 0.0003 Argument of perihelion, ω (◦) = 237.75 ± 0.03 Mean anomaly, M (◦) = 302.52 ± 0.04 3 GENERATING CONTROL ORBITS Perihelion, q (au) = 12.9832 ± 0.0013 WITH MONTE CARLO AND THE Aphelion, Q (au) = 25.426 ± 0.007 COVARIANCE MATRIX Absolute magnitude, H (mag) = 8.3 ± 0.4 Downloaded from For a given minor body, the orbital elements are a coordinate in six- dimensional space (assuming as we do that non-gravitational forces can be neglected), which represents the location where samples of as follows. In Section 2, we briefly discuss both the data and the control orbits are most likely to be generated. This is analogous to the peak of the Gaussian curve for a typical one-dimensional or numerical model used in our calculations. The topic of generating http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/ control orbits compatible with the available observations and its univariate normal distribution. The multivariate normal distribution implications is considered in Section 3. The current status of 2015 is a generalization of the one-dimensional normal distribution to higher dimensions. Instead of being specified by its mean value and DB216 is studied in Section 4, where its dynamical past and future orbital evolution are also investigated. Section 5 discusses our re- variance, such a distribution is characterized by its mean (a vector sults and their possible significance. The stability of the co-orbital with the mean of the multidimensional distribution) and covariance matrix, which defines a hyperellipsoid in multidimensional space. realm located in the neighbourhood of 2015 DB216 is tentatively explored in Section 6. A summary of our conclusions is given in The values of the elements of the covariance matrix indicate the Section 7. level to which two given variables vary together. For a particular object, both mean and covariance matrix are computed from the observations. at Northwestern University Library on February 2, 2016 2 DATA AND METHODOLOGY When studying the stability of the orbital solution of a certain minor planet, we can compute the orbital elements of the con- Asteroid 2015 DB216 was discovered on 2015 February 27 at Mt trol orbits varying them randomly, within the ranges defined by = Lemmon Survey. With a value of the semimajor axis a 19.20 au, their mean values and standard deviations. For example, a new = this Centaur moves in an eccentric, e 0.32, and highly inclined value of the orbital eccentricity can be found using the expression path, i = 37◦.72. With such an orbit, close encounters are only pos- ec = e + σ e ri,whereec is the eccentricity of the control orbit, e is sible with Uranus as its perihelion is well beyond Saturn’s aphelion the mean value of the eccentricity (nominal orbit), σ e is the standard and its aphelion far from Neptune’s perihelion. It is a relatively deviation of e (nominal orbit), and r is a (pseudo) random number = i large object with H 8.3 mag which translates into a diameter in with normal distribution in the range −1 to 1. In statistical terms, the range 46–145 km for an assumed albedo of 0.40–0.04. Its period the univariate Gaussian distribution results from adding a standard of revolution around the Sun, approximately 84.16 yr at present, is Gaussian variate with mean zero and variance one multiplied by the very close to that of Uranus which is suggestive of an object that standard deviation, to the mean value.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Projekt Brána Do Vesmíru
    Projekt Brána do vesmíru Hvězdárna Valašské Meziříčí, p. o. Krajská hvezdáreň v Žiline Súčasnosť a budúcnosť výskumu medziplanetárnej hmoty RNDr. Peter Vereš, PhD. University of Hawaii / Univerzita Komenského Ako sa objavila MPH ● Pôvodne iba nehybná hviezdna sféra ● Mesiac a Slnko ● Bludné planéty viditeľné voľným okom Starovek => novovek Piazzi ● 1.1.1801 ● Objekt pozorovaný 41 dní ● Stratený...predpoklad, medzi Marsom a Jupiterom ● Laplace – nemožné nájsť ● Gauss (24) vynašiel metódu, vypočítal, Ceres bol nájdený... Halley ● Kométy, odjakživa považované za poslov zlých správ, vysvetlené ako atmosferické javy ● ● ● ● Názov Kometes (dlhovlasá) ● 1577 Brahe = paralaxa, ďalej ako Mesiac ● Edmond Halley si všimol periodicitu kométy 1531, 1607, 1682 = návrat v 1758 Meteory ● Zaznamenané v -1809, - 687 (Lyridy) ● Ernst Chladni 1794 Kniha o pôvode Pallasovho železa ● 1798 Brandes, Benzenberg, paralaxa 400 meteorov, 22 spoločných ● 1803 dážď / Paríž, priznanie kozmického pôvodu ● 1833 USA dážď 20/s, LEO ● 1845/46 rozpad kométy Biela, dažde Andromedíd (72, 85, 93, 99) ● 1861 = Kirkwood, súvis rojov s kométami ● 1866 Schiaparelli: Swift-Tuttle (Perzeidy), Tempel (Leonidy) ● 1899 Adams vypočítal, že Jupiter narušil dráhu kométy, dážď nebol 1833, rytina, Leonidy 1998, foto, Leonidy, AGO Modra MPH a Slnečná sústava ● Slnko ● planéty (8) ● trpasličie planéty /Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Eris ● MPH = asteroidy, kométy, prach, plyn, .... Vznik a vývoj asteroidov ● -4571mil. rokov – vznik Sl. sús. ● Akrécia hmoty – nehomogenity, planetesimály, „viskózna
    [Show full text]
  • Discovery of Earth's Quasi-Satellite
    Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, Nr 8, 1251–1255 (2004) Abstract available online at http://meteoritics.org Discovery of Earth’s quasi-satellite Martin CONNORS,1* Christian VEILLET,2 Ramon BRASSER,3 Paul WIEGERT,4 Paul CHODAS,5 Seppo MIKKOLA,6 and Kimmo INNANEN3 1Athabasca University, Athabasca AB, Canada T9S 3A3 2Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, P. O. Box 1597, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743, USA 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada 5Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA 6Turku University Observatory, Tuorla, FIN-21500 Piikkiö, Finland *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Received 18 February 2004; revision accepted 12 July 2004) Abstract–The newly discovered asteroid 2003 YN107 is currently a quasi-satellite of the Earth, making a satellite-like orbit of high inclination with apparent period of one year. The term quasi- satellite is used since these large orbits are not completely closed, but rather perturbed portions of the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun. Due to its extremely Earth-like orbit, this asteroid is influenced by Earth’s gravity to remain within 0.1 AU of the Earth for approximately 10 years (1997 to 2006). Prior to this, it had been on a horseshoe orbit closely following Earth’s orbit for several hundred years. It will re-enter such an orbit, and make one final libration of 123 years, after which it will have a close interaction with the Earth and transition to a circulating orbit.
    [Show full text]
  • ISTS-2017-D-074ⅠISSFD-2017-074
    A look at the capture mechanisms of the “Temporarily Captured Asteroids” of the Earth By Hodei URRUTXUA1) and Claudio BOMBARDELLI2) 1)Astronautics Group, University of Southampton, United Kingdom 2)Space Dynamics Group, Technical University of Madrid, Spain (Received April 17th, 2017) Temporarily captured asteroids of the Earth are a newly discovered family of asteroids, which become naturally captured in the vicinity of the Earth for a limited time period. Thus, during the temporary capture these asteroids are in energetically favorable condi- tions, which makes them appealing targets for space missions to asteroids. Despite their potential interest, their capture mechanisms are not yet fully understood, and basic questions remain unanswered regarding the taxonomy of this population. The present work looks at gaining a better understanding of the key features that are relevant to the duration and nature of these asteroids, by analyzing patterns and extracting conclusions from a synthetic population of temporarily captured asteroids. Key Words: Asteroids, temporarily captured asteroids, capture dynamics, asteroid retrieval. Acronyms system. Asteroid 2006 RH120 is so far the only known mem- ber of this population, though statistical studies by Granvik et TCA : Temporarily captured asteroids al.12) support the evidence that such objects are actually com- TCO : Temporarily captured orbiters mon companions of the Earth, and thus it is expected that an TCF : Temporarily captured fly-bys increasing number of them will be found as survey technology improves.13) 1. Introduction During their temporary capture phase these asteroids are technically orbiting the Earth rather than the Sun, since their The origin of planetary satellites in the Solar System has Earth-binding energy is negative.
    [Show full text]
  • Origin and Evolution of Trojan Asteroids 725
    Marzari et al.: Origin and Evolution of Trojan Asteroids 725 Origin and Evolution of Trojan Asteroids F. Marzari University of Padova, Italy H. Scholl Observatoire de Nice, France C. Murray University of London, England C. Lagerkvist Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, Sweden The regions around the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points of Jupiter are populated by two large swarms of asteroids called the Trojans. They may be as numerous as the main-belt asteroids and their dynamics is peculiar, involving a 1:1 resonance with Jupiter. Their origin probably dates back to the formation of Jupiter: the Trojan precursors were planetesimals orbiting close to the growing planet. Different mechanisms, including the mass growth of Jupiter, collisional diffusion, and gas drag friction, contributed to the capture of planetesimals in stable Trojan orbits before the final dispersal. The subsequent evolution of Trojan asteroids is the outcome of the joint action of different physical processes involving dynamical diffusion and excitation and collisional evolution. As a result, the present population is possibly different in both orbital and size distribution from the primordial one. No other significant population of Trojan aster- oids have been found so far around other planets, apart from six Trojans of Mars, whose origin and evolution are probably very different from the Trojans of Jupiter. 1. INTRODUCTION originate from the collisional disruption and subsequent reaccumulation of larger primordial bodies. As of May 2001, about 1000 asteroids had been classi- A basic understanding of why asteroids can cluster in fied as Jupiter Trojans (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/ the orbit of Jupiter was developed more than a century lists/JupiterTrojans.html), some of which had only been ob- before the first Trojan asteroid was discovered.
    [Show full text]
  • The Search for Exomoons and the Characterization of Exoplanet Atmospheres
    Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Astronomia e Astrofisica The search for exomoons and the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres Relatore interno : dott. Alessandro Melchiorri Relatore esterno : dott.ssa Giovanna Tinetti Candidato: Giammarco Campanella Anno Accademico 2008/2009 The search for exomoons and the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres Giammarco Campanella Dipartimento di Fisica Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza” Associate at Department of Physics & Astronomy University College London A thesis submitted for the MSc Degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics September 4th, 2009 Università degli Studi di Roma ―La Sapienza‖ Abstract THE SEARCH FOR EXOMOONS AND THE CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES by Giammarco Campanella Since planets were first discovered outside our own Solar System in 1992 (around a pulsar) and in 1995 (around a main sequence star), extrasolar planet studies have become one of the most dynamic research fields in astronomy. Our knowledge of extrasolar planets has grown exponentially, from our understanding of their formation and evolution to the development of different methods to detect them. Now that more than 370 exoplanets have been discovered, focus has moved from finding planets to characterise these alien worlds. As well as detecting the atmospheres of these exoplanets, part of the characterisation process undoubtedly involves the search for extrasolar moons. The structure of the thesis is as follows. In Chapter 1 an historical background is provided and some general aspects about ongoing situation in the research field of extrasolar planets are shown. In Chapter 2, various detection techniques such as radial velocity, microlensing, astrometry, circumstellar disks, pulsar timing and magnetospheric emission are described. A special emphasis is given to the transit photometry technique and to the two already operational transit space missions, CoRoT and Kepler.
    [Show full text]
  • Ice& Stone 2020
    Ice & Stone 2020 WEEK 33: AUGUST 9-15 Presented by The Earthrise Institute # 33 Authored by Alan Hale About Ice And Stone 2020 It is my pleasure to welcome all educators, students, topics include: main-belt asteroids, near-Earth asteroids, and anybody else who might be interested, to Ice and “Great Comets,” spacecraft visits (both past and Stone 2020. This is an educational package I have put future), meteorites, and “small bodies” in popular together to cover the so-called “small bodies” of the literature and music. solar system, which in general means asteroids and comets, although this also includes the small moons of Throughout 2020 there will be various comets that are the various planets as well as meteors, meteorites, and visible in our skies and various asteroids passing by Earth interplanetary dust. Although these objects may be -- some of which are already known, some of which “small” compared to the planets of our solar system, will be discovered “in the act” -- and there will also be they are nevertheless of high interest and importance various asteroids of the main asteroid belt that are visible for several reasons, including: as well as “occultations” of stars by various asteroids visible from certain locations on Earth’s surface. Ice a) they are believed to be the “leftovers” from the and Stone 2020 will make note of these occasions and formation of the solar system, so studying them provides appearances as they take place. The “Comet Resource valuable insights into our origins, including Earth and of Center” at the Earthrise web site contains information life on Earth, including ourselves; about the brighter comets that are visible in the sky at any given time and, for those who are interested, I will b) we have learned that this process isn’t over yet, and also occasionally share information about the goings-on that there are still objects out there that can impact in my life as I observe these comets.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson -14 the Outer Space
    Lesson -14 The Outer Space Q1. Fill in the blanks: 1. The moon rotates around the earth. 2. A group of stars is called constellation. 3. Moon is the natural satellite of earth. 4. When we cannot see the moon in the sky, it is called amavasya. 5. The sun is a star. Q2. Choose the correct answer: 1. Huge glowing balls of fire are called___________. a) Satellites b) sun 2. The moon rotates around the _____________. a) Earth b) Mars 3. A group of stars forms a ___________. a) Satellite b) constellation 4. We can see full moon on ___________. a) Amavasya b) purnima 5. The moon gets its light from the _____________. a) Earth b) sun Q3. True or False: 1. Stars go away from the sky during the day – False. 2. Moon gets its light from earth –False. 3. We can live on moon –False. 4. Earth is the first planet from the sun – False. 5. Sun gives us heat and light – True. Q4. Match the following: 1. Sun - dwarf planet (5) 2. Moon - constellation (4) 3. Earth - satellite (2) 4. Leo - star (1) 5. Pluto - third planet from sun ( 3) Q5. Give two examples each of: 1. Heavenly bodies: Ans: (i) Moon (ii) planets. 2. Planets: Ans: (i) Earth (ii) mars 3. Stars: Ans: (i) Sun (ii) pole star 4. Constellations: Ans: (i) orion (ii) Leo 5. Satellites: Ans: (i) moon (ii)Earth Q6. Short answer: 1. What does the universe consist of? Ans: The universe consists of heavenly bodies like stars, planets and moon. 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Orbital Dynamics and Numerical N-Body Simulations of Extrasolar Moons and Giant Planets
    ORBITAL DYNAMICS AND NUMERICAL N-BODY SIMULATIONS OF EXTRASOLAR MOONS AND GIANT PLANETS. A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Yu-Cian Hong August 2019 c 2019 Yu-Cian Hong ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ORBITAL DYNAMICS AND NUMERICAL N-BODY SIMULATIONS OF EXTRASOLAR MOONS AND GIANT PLANETS. Yu-Cian Hong, Ph.D. Cornell University 2019 This thesis work focuses on computational orbital dynamics of exomoons and exoplanets. Exomoons are highly sought-after astrobiological targets. Two can- didates have been discovered to-date (Bennett et al., 2014, Teachey & Kipping, 2018). We developed the first N-body integrator that can handle exomoon orbits in close planet-planet interactions, for the following three projects. (1) Instability of moons around non-oblate planets associated with slowed nodal precession and resonances with stars.This work reversed the commonsensical notion that spinning giant planets should be oblate. Moons around spherical planets were destabilized by 3:2 and 1:1 resonance overlap or the chaotic zone around 1:1 resonance between the orbital precession of the moons and the star. Normally, the torque from planet oblateness keeps the orbit of close-in moons precess fast ( period ∼ 7 yr for Io). Without planet oblateness, Io?s precession period is much longer (∼ 104 yr), which allowed resonance with the star, thus the in- stability. Therefore, realistic treatment of planet oblateness is critical in moon dynamics. (2) Orbital stability of moons in planet-planet scattering. Planet- planet scattering is the best model to date for explaining the eccentricity distri- bution of exoplanets.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Satellite Background I: the Gravitational
    Stuart Greenbaum: Natural Satellite Analysis by the composer Background In 2013, I was approached by the Classical Guitar Society of Victoria to write a new work for Slava and Leonard Grigoryan. I had an idea to write a piece about moons; and in the ensuing discussions it was mooted that perhaps we could therefore premiere the work at the Melbourne Planetarium. We were put in touch with Dr Tanya Hill, who was very supportive of the idea and creating visuals in the Planetarium dome at Scienceworks to match the with five movements DigitalSky Programming. It was subsequently premiered on 15 November 2013 at Melbourne Planetarium (two shows), repeated on 16 February 2014, and then given a two further concert performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 17 April 2014. A natural satellite, moon, or secondary planet is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. Earth has one large natural s satellite, known a the Moon. No "moons of moons" (natural satellites that orbit the natural satellite of another body) are known. In most cases, the tidal effects of the primary would make such a system unstable. The seven largest natural satellites in the Solar System are Jupiter's Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa), Saturn's moon Titan, Earth's Moon, and Neptune's captured natural satellite Triton. I: The gravitational influence of Titan Most regular moons in the Solar System are tidally locked to their respective primaries, meaning that the same side of the natural satellite always faces its planet.
    [Show full text]
  • Roving on Phobos: Challenges of the Mmx Rover for Space Robotics
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Institute of Transport Research:Publications ROVING ON PHOBOS: CHALLENGES OF THE MMX ROVER FOR SPACE ROBOTICS Jean Bertrand (1), Simon Tardivel (1), Frans IJpelaan (1), Emile Remetean (1), Alex Torres (1), Stéphane Mary (1), Maxime Chalon (2), Fabian Buse (2), Thomas Obermeier (2), Michal Smisek (2), Armin Wedler (2), Joseph Reill (2), Markus Grebenstein (2) (1) CNES, 18 avenue Edouard Belin 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9 (France), [email protected] (2) DLR, Münchener Straße 20 82234 Weßling (Germany), [email protected] ABSTRACT Once on the surface, the rover would deploy and upright itself from its stowed position and orientation, and carry This paper presents a small rover for exploration mission out several science objectives over the course of a few dedicated to the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. months. In October 2018, CNES and DLR have This project is a collaboration between JAXA for the expressed their interest in partnering together on this mother spacecraft, and a cooperative contribution of project and the MMX rover is now a joint project of both CNES and DLR to provide a rover payload. organizations in tight cooperation. After a description of the MMX mission defined by JAXA, this paper presents This rover will be different in many aspects compared to the Phobos environment. Then, it details the mission the existing ones. It will have to drive in a very low constraints and the rover objectives. It outlines some gravity with only little power given by the solar arrays.
    [Show full text]
  • Detecting the Yarkovsky Effect Among Near-Earth Asteroids From
    Detecting the Yarkovsky effect among near-Earth asteroids from astrometric data Alessio Del Vignaa,b, Laura Faggiolid, Andrea Milania, Federica Spotoc, Davide Farnocchiae, Benoit Carryf aDipartimento di Matematica, Universit`adi Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 5, Pisa, Italy bSpace Dynamics Services s.r.l., via Mario Giuntini, Navacchio di Cascina, Pisa, Italy cIMCCE, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universits, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Lille, 77 av. Denfert-Rochereau F-75014 Paris, France dESA SSA-NEO Coordination Centre, Largo Galileo Galilei, 1, 00044 Frascati (RM), Italy eJet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, 91109 CA, USA fUniversit´eCˆote d’Azur, Observatoire de la Cˆote d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Boulevard de l’Observatoire, Nice, France Abstract We present an updated set of near-Earth asteroids with a Yarkovsky-related semi- major axis drift detected from the orbital fit to the astrometry. We find 87 reliable detections after filtering for the signal-to-noise ratio of the Yarkovsky drift esti- mate and making sure the estimate is compatible with the physical properties of the analyzed object. Furthermore, we find a list of 24 marginally significant detec- tions, for which future astrometry could result in a Yarkovsky detection. A further outcome of the filtering procedure is a list of detections that we consider spurious because unrealistic or not explicable with the Yarkovsky effect. Among the smallest asteroids of our sample, we determined four detections of solar radiation pressure, in addition to the Yarkovsky effect. As the data volume increases in the near fu- ture, our goal is to develop methods to generate very long lists of asteroids with reliably detected Yarkovsky effect, with limited amounts of case by case specific adjustments.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:Astro-Ph/0605606 V1 23 May 2006 Et Fsaesuis Otws Eerhisiue Ste
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CERN Document Server Discovery of a Binary Centaur Keith S. Noll Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218 [email protected] Harold F. Levison Dept. of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Ste. 400, 1050 Walnut St., Boulder, CO 80302 [email protected] Will M. Grundy Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001 [email protected] Denise C. Stephens Johns Hopkins University, Dept. Physics and Astronomy, Baltimore, MD 21218 [email protected] ABSTRACT We have identified a binary companion to (42355) 2002 CR46 in our ongoing deep survey using the Hubble Space Telescope’s High Resolution Camera. It is the first com- panion to be found around an object in a non-resonant orbit that crosses the orbits of arXiv:astro-ph/0605606 v1 23 May 2006 giant planets. Objects in orbits of this kind, the Centaurs, have experienced repeated strong scattering with one or more giant planets and therefore the survival of binaries in this transient population has been in question. Monte Carlo simulations suggest, however, that binaries in (42355) 2002 CR46-like heliocentric orbits have a high proba- bility of survival for reasonable estimates of the binary’s still-unknown system mass and separation. Because Centaurs are thought to be precursors to short period comets, the question of the existence of binary comets naturally arises; none has yet been defini- tively identified. The discovery of one binary in a sample of eight observed by HST suggests that binaries in this population may not be uncommon.
    [Show full text]